Race is shaping up as Republicans vs. Hillary

We’re still seven months out from New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary and the race for the Republican nomination is heating up following the first Fox News/GOP debate last week.

Even without a single debate having taken place on the Democratic side, the Republicans have concluded that Hillary Clinton is the one to beat.

The real takeaway from the recent debate was that the Republican candidates need to preserve the support for their own party to get the nomination, while taking aim not at the entire Democratic Party for the general election, but at one Democrat — Clinton.

Even as they sniped at each other, the Republican candidates were unified in their efforts to discredit Clinton, attacking her on multiple occasions during the debate, while steering away from any of the other Democratic candidates.

The recent Franklin Pierce University/Boston Herald poll numbers show Donald Trump, who was not even a candidate in the first poll, now leading in New Hampshire. The rapid change in the polls for Republicans could be a wake-up call.

Getting stuck on the idea that Clinton will be the nominee for the Democratic Party could be a very costly mistake for the Republicans if the Democratic polling numbers shift before the primary — and the GOP numbers show how volatile the race can be.

The GOP debate also left us with other unanswered questions. Could Trump really become president if he ran as an independent? Or would he be a spoiler who ensures a Democratic win? Would this be Trump’s revenge if he’s rejected?

And will the Republican Party’s expectation that Clinton will be the nominee come up short, forcing GOP candidates to abruptly change their strategy?